How To Deal
by Tears-For-Fears
Summary: Takes place 3 months before Jude wins Instant Star. Full summary inside.JudeTommy.Kind of AU.
1. I Won't Be There

**A/N: This story takes place 3 months before Jude wins the Instant Star competition, and Jude is dealing with the death of her boyfriend. After she wins, Tommy still starts to fall for her, but she can't fall back because she's still trying to get over the accident. This story is about how he tries to help her so she'll notice him. Btw, I am expecting to update Point of No Return soon, but i'm not sure about About Time. Anyway, here you go.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show.**

**Chapter 1: I Won't Be There**

15-year-old Jude Harrison was sitting in her boyfriend's car, driving home from her first gig at an underground club. Her boyfriend, Jason, had convinced her that she needed to perform for other people if she wanted to be noticed, so she had agreed to perform at the party. He glanced over at her. "You were great tonight, baby." She sighed.

"Thanks." He still noticed that she didn't seem happy.

"What's wrong? I thought you'd be excited about this. You were amazing."

"I know. But this thing with my parents. They're fighting more than ever. I don't know what's going to happen between them."

"Don't worry, babe. I'm sure everything is gonna be just fine." He leaned over to kiss her cheek just as a truck came up.

"Jason, look out!" He quickly got up and tried to steer the car out of the way, but it wasn't quick enough. The truck crashed into them. Jude woke up feeling very dizzy. She looked around to see her family, Jamie, and Kat sitting near her and realized she was in a hospital bed. "What happened?" Victoria was the first to realize she was awake and ran up to her.

"Oh, honey. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, i'm fine. Just a little dizzy. Why?" Sadie came up, looking surprised.

"Why? You were in an accident in Jason's car."

"Jason? How is he?" A dark look came over Sadie's face.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Jude. But he's gone." Jude's face fell and she started crying.

"Gone? He can't be gone."

"I'm really sorry, honey." Said Victoria, putting her hand on Jude's shoulder. Jude ignored them and just kept crying harder.

"He can't be gone," She said to herself between sobs.

_2 months later_

"Jude, check this out!" Said Jamie as he rushed up to Jude with a poster in his hand. She sighed and looked up. "It's a new competition for songwriters called Instant Star. You have to audition."

"I can't, Jamie. You know I gave up singing after Jason died." He frowned.

"Jude, you can't waste your talent because you're still grieving. I mean, the accident was 2 months ago. Most people have gotten over it." Jude looked down as tears started to flow from her eyes.

"Yeah, well most people weren't there." She kept crying. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so depressed about my parents he would still be alive."

"Come on, Jude. You can't do that to yourself. You can't blame yourself just because that truck came when it did." She kept crying. "Come on. He would've wanted you to do it. You know that." She looked up at him. He was right. Jason had always tried to help her with her singing career any way he could. She wiped away a few tears.

"Ok. I'll audition. Thanks, Jamie." He smiled.

"Sure." He got up and left her alone. She looked at the poster.

"Hmm. Instant Star."

_1 month later_

_"Our very first Instant Star is..."_ Jude closed her eyes as she listened to the voice over the intercom. She had seen her competition and didn't really believe she could beat Eden. But hey, it was worth a try"... _Jude Harrison!_ " She gasped as she was suddenly swarmed with people handing her flowers. _I can't believe this. I must be dreaming, _she thought. She appeared in the studio with Jamie at her side the next week. I went into the building and saw a huge lounge. Her eyes widened as she walked into the center to meet the people she was supposed to meet. _This place is huge, _she thought as she walked. She kept walking until she came to a wall with a railing on top of it and saw 2 people walking towards her. _Here we go. I can do this. Jason would have wanted me to. _That thought made her feel both excited and mad at herself for being like that that day. _I can't think about that right now. Jamie is right. I can't blame myself. _She shook off her thoughts and tried to look confident.

**A/N: I know, sad. Unfortunately this part is essential in this story, and it is going to get mutch worse. In the next chapter, Jude meets Tommy for the first time, and Tommy starts to fall for Jude, but only if you R&R.**


	2. Welcome To My Life

**Wow. More than 2 reviews.lol. Way more than 2 reviews. Sorry if I got this part of the story wrong; I can't really remember how it went. I used a different song for this because I think it fits this story a little better.**

**Chapter 2: Welcome To My Life**

The two people were arguing as they walked. One of them said something about how she was too young, but she couldn't really hear anything else. Before she had a chance to hear anything else, they had seen her and were now walking down to her."Jude. It's nice to meet you," said a woman who was walking down to meet her. "I'm Georgia, and this is EJ." She gestured towards the woman who was standing next to her.

"Hi." Said Jude, holding out her hand. She ignored it.

"So, your family couldn't make it today?"

"No, they could. I just wanted to do this on my own."

"Who is this?" Georgia pointed at Jamie.

"Oh. This is Jamie, he's my best friend in the world." Jamie smiled. EJ looked at her and shook her head.

"I can't work with this. No offense, but your image just doesn't say popstar." Jude looked offended.

"Well, i'm not a popstar, i'm a songwriter."

"You're right," Georgia cut in. "And that's exactly why you won. We already have a great producer for you."

"Billy Joe from Green Day?"

"Well, we were thinking more Tom Quincy." Her jaw dropped.

"What? Little Tommy Q from Boyzattack?"

"He's really grown alot as an artist."

"Little Tommy Q? Are you kidding me?"

"My name's Tom Quincy," Said a voice from behind them. She turned around to see him leaning on the railing facing them. _She's gorgeous, _he thought, but quickly pushed the thought out of his mind after remembering that she was only 15 years old. "Don't expect me to like you. I'm here because Georgia's a friend, not because I wanted you to win. Personally I think Eden would have been a better choice. And don't you ever call me 'Little Tommy Q' again."

"Sorry." Jude was both frightened and hurt. She didn't expect him to be nice, but she also didn't expect him to be so mean. He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Let's just get to work." He led her to a small office and they sat down. "Let's see what you've got." She nodded, picked up her guitar, and began to sing.

_How could this happen to me?_

_I've made my mistakes_

_Got nowhere to run_

_the night goes on as i'm fading away_

_i'm sick of this life_

_I just wanna scream_

_how could this happen to me?_

_Everybody's screaming_

_I try to make a sound _

_but no one hears me_

_I'm slipping off the edge_

_I'm hanging by a thread_

_I wanna start this over again_

Tommy stared at her open mouthed as she kept singing.

_So I try to hold onto_

_A time when nothing mattered_

_And I can't explain what happened_

_And I can't erase the things that i've done_

_No I can't..._

"Stop," He said before she had a chance to start the second chorus. He looked both amazed and concerned at the same time. "What was that about? It was- fairly amazing." She looked down trying to hide the pain in her eyes. He saw right throught her. "I see. Too sad to explain." She looked up.

"It was nothing. Just something that happened a while ago." He raised his eyebrows.

"Jude, people don't write songs like _that _from nothing.They need something to happen." Jude glanced down at her watch and frowned.

"I've gotta go." He nodded knowingly.

"Ok." She got up and started to walk away.

"See you tomorrow," She yelled back at him before leaving the office and walking in to the main lobby. _I've gotta find out what happened that made her write something like that._ He ran out after her and caught up with Jamie just as he was leaving the studio.

"Hey, wait up," He yelled. Jamie turned around.

"What?"

"I need to ask you something." He looked interested.

"Yeah?"

"Jude's song. Why did she write it?" Jamie sighed.

"Maybe you should sit down for this." They sat down and Jamie told him the whole story: How she was in the accident, how she woke up to find out her boyfriend was dead, how she blamed herself and quit singing, and how he talked her into auditioning for Instant Star by saying he would've wanted her to. He didn't leave out a single detail. When he was done, all Tommy could do was stare at him. "Say something!"

"I can't believe it. That's horrible."

"Yeah, well I have to go." He left Tommy to think about what he had told her.

**A/N: Since I have nothing else to say here, I guess i'll just say thanks for the great reviews and please R&R for the next chapter.**


	3. Smoke and Mirrors

**A/N: Ok, I'm really sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with a lot of other stories and I haven't gotten to this one in a while. Anyway, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show. **

**Chapter 3: Smoke and Mirrors**

Tommy went to visit Jude the next day. She was just coming out of school and there was a ridiculous set up waiting for her. To put it bluntly, tubas were involved. He was there to rescue her. She walked out of the school with her 2 friends, Jamie (or as Tommy liked to call him, her sidekick.), and another girl, and was instantly bombarded by people. He smirked when the band started to play the song, tubas and all. Looking up, he saw her say something to her friends and then look over at him. He smiled and waved her over. She came down after saying something else to her friends. She slowly made her way towards the viper, dodging the crowd of people blocking her from Tommy. She finally made it to him, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" He smiled.

"Rescuing you."

"What?" He smirked and looked back at the band.

"That was great, by the way. _Love _the tubas." She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." He gestured towards the car.

"Get in. Let's go." She cast one last glance at Jamie and Kat before getting into the passenger's seat of the car. Tommy got in on the other side, started the engine, and drove off. They had been driving for a little while; they came to a busy part. Tommy continued to speed down the freeway until they got to an intersection. Just as they were about to go past it, a car pulled out and Tommy stopped abruptly, causing Jude to grab the side of the car in fear as the night of the crash flashed before her eyes. She shut them tight to keep the tears from falling and Tommy looked over at her. The sight broke his heart, a girl like that nearly losing it over a close call. He reached over, stroking her hair sweetly. "Shhhh. Its ok, it's ok. Nothing's gonna happen to you." She looked up at him and smiled, slowly regaining her composure. _I won't let it, _he thought.

"Thanks." He smiled back and nodded, then continued to drive. They ended their journey at a secluded pier, Tommy picking up a guitar and sitting on the railing and Jude sitting on a chair. He handed her the guitar.

"Play," He told her simply. Without a second thought, Jude began to play the song. She would pause here and there to adjust the chord and would then once again start playing. This continued a few times until he stopped her. "That's your 12th chord variation and you still haven't touched the lyrics." She shrugged.

"I just…want to get it right first." He scoffed.

"Do you want to get it right, or do you want to get it right now?" She rolled her eyes.

"Funny." He closed his eyes tiredly, going to sit next to her and putting an arm around her to reach the neck of the guitar. He sighed.

"Look, the chords you want, they're in there. And they want to come out, but you keep scaring them back in. You gotta coax them out." He took hold of her hand, making it gently strum the strings on the guitar. "Got it?" She nodded. It was then he realized how close their faces were. Barely inches apart, he could see every feature on her face. _Wow, _he thought. _She's… beautiful. Wait, what am I thinking? Get a hold of yourself, Quincy. She's 15 years old! You're 22. You CAN'T fall for her._ He looked away._ There are consequences, remember? _He looked back to see her looking at him. _Screw the consequences! _He suddenly pulled her closer to him, abruptly capturing her lips. The kiss lasted for a little longer until Jude finally managed to free herself from his hold. She pulled away.

"I'm sorry. I just…can't do this. Please, can you just take me home?" He bit his lip and looked away. He nodded. She looked at him for a second before going over to the car and getting in. He glumly followed her, getting into the driver's seat and starting the car up. He drove off and they wordlessly reached their destination a few minutes later. She got out of the car and turned back to him, attempting to make things better between them. "I guess…I'll see you tomorrow?"

He didn't even look at her, just muttered a quick "yeah" and then drove off when she began to walk up the driveway. She opened the door to her house and walked inside, running straight up to her room, locking the door and collapsing onto her bed.

"Well, it's good to know I'm already welcomed here," she said to herself. Then, she realized something. He had just given her her first real kiss.

**A/N: R&R.**


	4. Don't You Forget About Me

**A/N: Not much to say for this one. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show.**

**Chapter 4: Don't You Forget About Me**

After the day at the pier, things had gotten awkward between Jude and Tommy. They avoided each other as much as possible considering they worked together, and were careful not to be alone together. A little while into their recording session, Jude had left to get coffee, leaving Tommy and Kwest sitting in the studio talking. "I don't know what happened, man. One minute she's kissing me and the next she's icing me. I don't know what to think." Kwest sighed.

"Give the girl a break man. She's healing." Tommy looked at him.

"What?" Kwest looked away for a second, thinking about how to explain it to him.

"I mean, think about it man. Kid loses her boyfriend in a car crash and she was sitting next to him. That broke her heart man. Then a little while later while she's still trying to get over it another guy comes into her life and kisses her. Think about it, even if she does like you back she can't do anything about it. I mean, not unless someone helps her," he hinted. Tommy sighed.

"Kwest man, how am I gonna do that?"

"Just…let her know you're there for her. Help her through it and support her. Most importantly give her space. Don't try anything with her. She's not ready for it." Tommy let this all sink in as Jude entered the room. Kwest got up, taking this as a signal to leave. "Man, I'll see you later. And remember, be there for her," He said in a voice only loud enough for Tommy to hear. Tommy nodded at his best friend as he watched him walk out, leaving Jude and Tommy alone together. Jude sat down on one of the chairs in front of the sound board, cautiously moving away from Tommy. He noticed this and moved closer to him, causing her to move over more until she accidentally moved into the soundboard. Tommy moved over to her again until he was right in front of her and took her hands.

"Look, Jude…." He began, searching for the right words. He saw the expectant look on her face and sighed. "About yesterday at the pier. I owe you a huge apology." Jude held up a hand to silence him.

"Don't worry about it. You probably just had a lot on your mind." She added a nod to emphasize that she understood. Tommy smiled.

"Good. Because I don't want this to mess anything up between us. I care about you." The second Jude turned away Tommy could tell he had said something wrong. She stood up.

"Right. Umm, Tommy, I really need to go. So I guess I'll uhh, see you tomorrow?" But before she could get out of the studio, Tommy's voice stopped her.

"Jude I'm sorry." She turned back, and Tommy continued. "About your boyfriend." Jude looked at him curiously as she sat back down on the seat across from him.

"How did you-"

"Jamie told me. I-I didn't mean to pry but it's just that song. It made me wonder." Jude nodded.

"I understand." They stood in silence for a minute, neither really knowing what to say, until Tommy spoke up.

"It must've been hard for you. Being right there, and him dying and you being alive." She looked away and nodded.

"It was. It still is." Tommy continued.

"And I know I probably made it a thousand times harder with that kiss. I really am sorry." She gave him a weak smile.

"It's ok." The silence came over them once again, overtaking them for a little while until Jude suddenly broke out in sobs. She put her head in her hands and Tommy looked up, only slightly shocked. "I just...miss him," She said between sobs. Tommy wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair.

"I know. I'm here for you." She buried her head into his shoulder and continued to cry. She stayed in that position until her crying slowly subsided and she sat back in her own chair, drying her eyes. She smiled at Tommy, who smiled back.

"Thanks. I needed that." He nodded understandingly.

"Anytime. Come on. We should really get back to work." She nodded.

"You're probably right." Tommy moved his chair up to the soundboard and they continued working on the song.

**A/N: R&R for the next chapter. **


	5. Why Can't I?

**A/N: Ok, here's the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show.**

**Chapter 5: Why Can't I**

"He _kissed _you?" asked Kat the next day at school. Her tone was harsh and overly-dramatic, as if she had just heard that Jude was thinking about jumping off a cliff into a pool of sharks. But this, this was much worse. "_Lil' Tommy Q _kissed you?" Jude nodded.

"Yeah, can you believe it? And it wasn't just a small peck, either. It was _huge. _She sighed, leaning against the row of lockers next to Kat's. "Exactly how I imagined my first kiss to be." At this, Kat slammed the locker door shut, looking at her friend with wide, shocked eyes.

"Whoa, hold on a minute. You and Jason never kissed?" She shrugged, looking away.

"Well, no. Not…really." Kat's jaw dropped, the corners of her mouth turning slightly down.

"Oh. My. God. And you said you had the perfect boyfriend." Jude sighed, giving her a defeated look.

"Look, can we please not bring Jason into this? Please?" Kat looked down.

"Oh. Sorry."

"S'ok." Kat smiled, attempting to change the dark mood that she had inadvertently created.

"So, you were saying?" Jude's face lit up instantly as she continued to ramble on about her encounter with Tommy.

"He was so sweet after that, like he understood everything I was going through. I-I couldn't believe it. He told me he was there for me. Kat, he even said he cared about me." Kat scoffed.

"Well, that's obvious." She exclaimed, referring to the kiss they had shared. Jude gave her a look. "What?"

"Nothing, I guess." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I don't know Kat; he just makes me feel so safe. Like I can count on him and nothing will ever happen to me." Kat cocked her head to the side, grinning.

"Ahhh, looks like _someone's_ in love." Jude rolled her eyes.

"Kat, he's just a friend. Nothing more. I can almost guarantee you that there is _no _real love there." Kat just looked knowingly at her best friend.

"_Almost _being the key word," She said before walking away. Jude remained leaning against her locker, her thoughts taking over. _What if Kat's right? What if I am falling in love with him?_

**A/N: R&R.**


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